New Paltz Central School District

New Paltz Central School District

Baseline Writing Assessment/Interim Writing Assessment

Goals

1.      Assess students’ knowledge of the writing process.

2.      Assess students’ abilities to write using the qualities of good writing.

3.      Use the assessment to plan the first unit of study and for long term planning for Writing and Reading Workshop.

Prompt –

Today you will be writing a true story about something that has happened to you or something you did. Think about a small moment (or single event) from your life.

Activity –

Ask your students to think on their own then pair with partner and share out.

Baseline Writing Assessment

For Kindergarten Students

1^st Week in October - 1 day process – 20 minutes

Materials: see attached paper

Teacher gathers students in the meeting area for Writing Workshop. Teacher explains to students that he/she will read prompt and then they will do a think, pair, share. I am going to give you a piece of paper and a pencil. You will go back to your table and write the best you can. When everyone is done, we will celebrate all the writing you did today.”

This piece of writing that the students produce will be their baseline piece of writing. It will be the first piece in their portfolios.

Teachers will assess through observation and talking to the students. Teachers should make observations about all the behaviors they notice in the students from the time they get their paper until the last person is finished writing. Teachers should notice: how students get started, how they write on the paper, what they put down on their paper, if they stop writing and start again, how long they write, what they do when they are done. Teachers will also need to note if they assisted the child in any way to write the piece. (Please note: Teachers are not to assist students unless they are absolutely in need of assistance, e.g., sitting and doing nothing or becoming anxious in some way. Then teachers should offer a strategy to try, but not give the student an idea to write about or a next step).

Teachers should also take notes about what students say about what they have written. Teachers may ask questions, such as: “Tell me about your writing. What did you write?”  Asking students to “Tell me about your story” makes the assumption that students have written a story.  Teachers may invite other adults in the school –the reading recovery teacher or intervention specialist – to assist in hearing students talk about what they have written. Teachers should ask students to read their story and scribe it on a post-it placed on back.  The teacher can then use this documentation to get a sense of their oral language and what they know about writing.

For First Grade Students

By end of 1^st week – 2 Sessions, 20 minutes each

Materials: paper with a space for a picture and multiple lines- see attached

Teacher gathers students in the meeting area for Writing Workshop. Teacher explains to students that “Every day we will come together to think and talk about the work that writers do. We are all writers. We are going to learn about each other as writers this year. We will write and share our writing with each other. You will have a chance to write.” Read the prompt (on the first page) and do a think, pair, share. “I am going to give you a piece of paper and a pencil. You will go back to your table and write the best you can. When everyone is done, we will celebrate all the writing you did today.”

Teachers will assess through observation and talking to the students. Teachers should make observations about all the behaviors they notice in the students from the time they get their paper until the last person is finished writing. Teachers should notice: how students get started, how they write on the paper, what they put down on their paper, if they stop writing and start again, how long they write, what they do when they are done. Teachers will also need to note if they assisted the child in any way to write the piece. (Please note: Teachers are not to assist students unless they are absolutely in need of assistance, e.g., sitting and doing nothing or becoming anxious in some way. The teacher should offer a strategy to try, but not give the student an idea to write about or a next step). If the teacher has trouble reading what the student has written, the teacher should ask the student to read the story and scribe it on a post-it placed on back.

These notes may be the first set of notes in your conferencing records. Use these notes as the basis for conferences in the first week of school. “I was watching you write the other day and I noticed that you sat for a really long time before you started writing. Tell me about that…”

*Please Note: Teachers are to read the student pieces and note everything that the students were able to do.

Grades 2-5 teachers should do this assessment by Wednesday of the second week of school when students are more settled.

This piece of writing that the students produce will be their baseline piece of writing. It will be the first piece in each student’s portfolio.

By end of 1^st week - 1 day process

2^nd –          20 minutes

3^rd - 5^th – 30 minutes

For Second Grade Students

Materials: a few pieces of paper with a small space for a picture and multiple lines – see attached

For Third –Fifth Grade Students

Materials: lined notebook paper and a pencil

“Today you will write a piece that will go in your portfolio. I will use it to figure out who you are as writers, and what you are really good at as writers. I will also be looking for places in your writing that are not as strong, and those are the areas that we will focus on this year. So if you know smart ways of writing, that’s what you should show off for me. Show off what you know well about writing. Remember that this counts as a first portfolio piece, so other people will see it, too. Do the best you can all by yourself.” Read prompt (on front page) and do think, pair, share.

While students are writing, teachers should make observations about all the behaviors they notice in the students from the time they get their papers until the last person is finished writing. Teachers should notice: how students get started, how they write on the paper, what they put down on their paper, if they stop writing and start again, how long they write, what they do when they are done. Teachers will also need to note if they assisted the child in any way to write the piece. (Please note: Teachers are not to assist students unless they are absolutely in need of assistance, e.g., sitting and doing nothing or becoming anxious in some way. Then teachers should offer a strategy to try but not give the student an idea to write about or a next step).

These notes may be the first set of notes in your conferencing records. Use these notes to build conferences in the first week of school. “I was watching you write the other day and I noticed that you sat for a really long time before you started writing. Tell me about that...”

*Please Note: Teachers are to read the student pieces and note everything that the students were able to do.

Interim Writing Assessment

               This will be given by the end of the 1^st week in April. The administration of the assessment is the same as the baseline in fall except that kindergarten will use two twenty minute sessions on consecutive days, first grade will use two thirty minute sessions on consecutive days, and second grade will use lined paper without a space for a picture. Please use a similar dialogue as was scripted in fall. The prompt is the same as fall.

Assessing the Baseline Piece of Writing

Once the baseline piece has been produced, it will need to be assessed.

1.      Teachers on a grade level will meet to discuss the Baseline Writing of their students, and score using the grade level rubric.

2.      Teachers will look at their student writing and list (by student) what each student can do based on what they see. Grade levels will compile into one list as a starting point for learning. Teachers on a grade level should discuss the qualities of good writing and the behaviors of good writers. They should all come to agreement and find examples among their students. The idea is for everyone to have the same expectations for their qualities of good writing and the behaviors of good writers.

3.      Teachers may want to consider the following qualities of good writing and behaviors of good writers as they learn together how to identify them in their students’ work: form (genre: poetry, memoir non-fiction: how to, etc.) structure (list or narrative), elaboration (details that support the focus of the piece), spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, and their confidence and engagement (habits and affect towards writing) with writing. Teachers should also use the K-5 Literacy Standards and the Performance Standards. Please note: Teachers should keep in mind that good writing encompasses all of these qualities and behaviors; therefore an emphasis should not be placed on one more than another. Good writing begins with a focused idea which is then developed throughout a piece. Students should be held accountable for what they know about spelling and punctuation as well, but if we do not begin with a focused idea then it does not matter what we have written.